Excerpt

During the summer of 1922 several meetings were held at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, in order to consider the advisability of making a co-operative attempt to state in general terms what is known or conjectured regarding the principles which govern cellular structure and function; or, in other words, to present briefly for the first time within the scope of a single volume data concerning the cell fundamental, alike, to the sciences of botany, zoölogy, physiology, and pathology. It was recognized that this would involve a close rapprochement between physicochemical and morphological points of view, which in itself would be beneficial. It was decided that the best plan would be to emphasize the results obtained in different lines of work bearing upon the cell, as the fundamental unit in health and disease, mentioning methods of investigation only when necessary and historical data only in order to place the results in their proper perspective in the development of the subject; but to supply copious references to the current literature so that any particular line of thought could be followed up systematically and at a minimum expense of time and effort; this information to be given in such a form that it would be useful not only for students but also for investigators. Upon careful consideration it was found that a presentation of this kind naturally fell into subdivisions, every one of which could profitably be treated by workers in the laboratory, each one of whom was accordingly invited to assume full responsibility for a portion of the book. In this way the labor involved was shared and did not fall heavily on the shoulders of any single individual. The unique opportunity thus afforded for friendly and informal consultation between the different contributors greatly facilitated the enterprise. Indeed, it is doubtful whether the object in view could have been approached if the individuals concerned had been widely scattered in different parts of the country. Under these circumstances, and in consideration of the fact that several of the contributors had developed their lines of study by availing themselves year after year of the facilities for investigation offered at Woods Hole, the volume, as it stands, is to be considered, to some extent at least, as a contribution from the Marine Biological Laboratory.